The Nightmare in the Moon
by Omega Dragonslayer
Summary: A human appears in Equestria. At the same time, Nightmare Moon comes back, looking for revenge. Can she finally overcome the Elements of Harmony, or will she be defeated once and for all? *A human in Equestria fic.
1. The Nightmare herself

***You know, because a human in Equestria story is the most original thing ever.**

"Man, Pinkie is so cute." I said, fixed on the episode I was watching.

The episode ended, then I started the next. "That one was better than finding a jug of milk in Canada." I said, "Or was it? Huh..."

I watched another episode, then looked outside. "Late." I got ready for bed, then fell asleep.

* * *

When I woke up it was much colder. I tried to find my blanket, but it seemed to have disappeared. I got up to look for another, then realized that I wasn't in my room anymore.

Shocking, really. Not like it was obvious or anything, no... Couldn't have been. Can't be a difference between a bed and the ground, can there? 'I'm an idiot.'

I looked around. I was in the middle of a dark forest. "I don't understand. Am I dreaming?" I looked around again. "Probably."

I started walking. 'This is a weird dream. So... I'm in control this time. When was the last time this happened? Oh well. Screw this, I'm out.'

I tried to wake myself, but it didn't work. Odd, because it usually does.

I reached an edge of the forest, and started seeing a castle, or what was left of a castle.

"Man, that's cool." I said.

There was a rope bridge over a cliff going to the castle. "This... kinda looks familiar."

I looked at the bridge. No way my fat ass was going over it. I looked back at the castle. Something about it started to bug me.

"Hey, wait a minute... Is that... Luna's castle?" I asked myself.

I looked at the bridge again. "I don't care whose castle it is, it isn't worth dying over. The hell is goin' on here? I've never had this kinda dream before. Is this..."

'Oh man, what if this was real? That would be awesome. Awesome to the max.'

"But... How? Why? Why do I even care? Now that... That is the real question. Guess there's nothing else to do but find somepony for help. That'd probably be best. Then again, it's the middle of the night. Some weird lookin' freak trudgin' out of the woods in the middle of the night. Yeah, that's a good way to make friends. Hey kids, ya wanna see a dead body?!"

I laughed at myself, then looked over the bridge again, half expecting something to be different. Nope.

"Maybe... Maybe I could cross it." I said.

I stepped on it. It creaked a little, but didn't break. I jumped a few times. "Better than it looks." I said.

I shrugged and walked across without a single rope snapping or board breaking. Lucky me.

I went in the castle. "Wow... This is... well it's unexpected is what it is."

"Who's there?" I heard. It was a girl's voice.

'Who the hell is that?' "Uh... Hi?"

"Who's there?" she asked again, angrier this time. I couldn't follow the voice to a source.

"I'm not here to cause trouble." I said, "Who are you?"

"I asked you first, now tell me."

"My name's Phil. Just Phil, I'm not important. I ain't gonna hurt ya."

"Hurt me? As if you could manage." she said with an obvious smugness.

I felt myself being lifted into the air. She pinned me against a wall, then she walked out from behind a statue.

"N-Nightmare Moon?!" I said in disbelief.

"So you know about me, child?" she asked, advancing on me.

"But... the Elements of Harmony! You're supposed to be..."

She laughed. "Destroyed? I'll never be destroyed, not even by those wretched Elements."

I noticed that her armor was tattered and broken, and she seemed to be exhausted. Regardless, she could still hold me in the air without any sign of struggle.

"But... What happened to Princess Luna?" I asked.

"Nothing, yet."

'Is she gonna spill her plan like every villain ever?'

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"Well, I don't really know. I just wanted to stay here until tomorrow. I wasn't gonna go to Ponyville at this hour. I'd probably terrify them all."

"Ponyville?"

"Yeah..."

"Maybe you'll be of some use to me after all." she said.

"What makes you think I'll help you?"

Another evil laugh. "That's the best part." she said, casting a spell on me.

* * *

"Oh man, where am I?" I asked, rubbing my head. I suddenly realized where I left off. "Luna's castle!"

It was broad daylight outside. "Wait, I crossed the bridge, then..." I couldn't remember. "Oh well, ain't important."

I stood up. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Maybe that I was in Equestria. That might be a little out of the ordinary. Just a little.

I went back to the bridge and crossed over it again. As soon as I stepped on the ground again, I felt a small wave of exhaustion, then the bridge collapsed behind me.

"Dayum, that was close." I said, "Not goin' back there anytime soon."

I walked through the forest. It was actually pretty easy to navigate during the day.

I exited the forest near Fluttershy's house. The animals that were playing around scurried away from me.

Fluttershy took one look at me, squeaked and ran inside, her animals following after her. She looked out the window at me, shaking.

I smiled at her. "Hello."

She opened the door a little and said, "Y-You can talk?"

"Yep." I replied, "I'm sorry for asking, but can I have some food? Like an apple or something."

The door closed, then a few seconds later she opened it back up with an apple in her hoof. She slowly walked over to me, and almost freaked out again when I took it from her.

"I'm not that scary, am I?" I asked her.

"Uh..."

"Am I?" I asked the apple, more seriously than one would typically talk to an apple.

"No, you're not scary." I said in a high-pitched voice, moving the apple around.

"See? The apple isn't afraid of me." I said, taking a bite.

She let out a nervous giggle.

"I'm Phil, what's your name?"

"F-F-Fluttersh-shy." she said.

"Thanks for the apple, Fluttershy."

"What are you?" she asked.

"I'm a human." I said.

"A human?" she said, "I've never heard of a human before."

She seemed curious about me, but I needed to get to Twilight.

"Hey, I'm in a bit of a jam at the moment." I said, "I got a big problem that I can't take care of myself. I was wondering if you know anypony who could help me. You seem busy, it would be rude to ask you."

"Well, my friend, Twilight Sparkle, might be able to help you. I can take you to her if you want."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. Could you just tell me where she is?"

"Oh, ok."

She told me where Twilight's house was. I thanked her, then headed there, walking behind houses. Not really in public, but not really hidden either. I'm sure a few ponies saw me, but they pretty much acted like I wasn't there.

I knocked on her door, and Spike answered.

"Uh..." He backed away.

"Hello." I said, "Fluttershy told me that a Twilight Sparkle lived here. I need her help."

"Oh." He sounded kinda disappointed. "Twilight! Something's at the door for you!"

"Be there in a second!"

"So who are you supposed to be anyways?" he asked.

"Just call me Phil." I said, "You?"

"Spike."

"Alrighty then."

Twilight walked to the door. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Phil. Just Phil. You must be Twilight."

"That's right. Sorry if I'm being rude, but what are you?"

"I'm a human."

"A human? Where have I heard that word before?"

"I have a problem, and your friend Fluttershy told me that you could help." I said.

"You met Fluttershy?"

"Yep. Can we talk?"

"Come on in." she said, standing aside.

It was a little cluttered inside, but for the most part it was clean.

"I remember now!" she said, "Lyra told me about humans! But she said that there weren't any humans in Equestria."

"Yeah, that's kinda the problem." I said, "I'm not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be back at my house, playing video games. I mean, the biggest question I have at this point is how I got here."

"I'm also curious about that. My friend said that humans don't even live in Equestria, or even on this world. It would take an incredible amount of magic power to bring one here. It's something that only the princesses would be capable of."

"Princesses?"

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They rule Equestria. Speaking of, I should tell them that a human has come to Equestria. Spike!"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." he said.

"So... What exactly do you need help with?" she asked.

"Just figuring out how I got here, and why, is really all I want at the moment."

"What about getting back home?"

"Nah, I'll stay in Equestria for a while." I said, "What harm could it do?"

"I suppose."

I felt another wave of exhaustion, then a book fell from a shelf near Twilight. She jumped a little, then sighed and put it back on the shelf.

"Are you ok?" she asked me.

I put my hand on my head. "Just tired. And my head kinda hurts. C... can I have some water?"

She nodded, then got a chair with her magic. "Go ahead and rest."

She walked into her kitchen. Another wave of exhaustion, then the sound of broken glass, and a yelp of shock.

"You... ok..." I asked, a little woozy.

I didn't hear what she said.

'So tired...'

***Well, that was chapter one. I think I got a nice idea for this story. Just gonna be a draft for now. By that, I mean that I'll still be working on the beginning for a while.**

**Thanks for reading. If you liked it, leave a review. If you didn't like it, leave a review.**


	2. Making friends

I heard a faint voice. _'That was pathetic. I shouldn't be this weak.'_

"Man, these headaches have to stop." I said, holding my hand over my head.

I sat up. I had been moved to a bed. It was unmistakably Twilight's. "Ah man, what happened last night?" I asked.

"He's awake." I heard her say, "Stay here, I'll get him." She came up the stairs. "Are you ok?"

"Same as I was earlier, I guess. Head still hurts."

"I wouldn't doubt it. You hit it on the ground." she said.

"What about you? I heard a glass break." I said.

"That was nothing. I'm fine. You were talking in your sleep. It was actually kinda worrisome."

"What'd I say?"

"You said that Nightmare Moon is back."

"That's... bad? Right? Am I right?"

"Yeah, that's really bad. I told the Princess about it and she said that she wanted to talk to you right away.

"Probably for the best." I said. I got off the bed and stretched a little. "How long was I out?"

"Not long. Only an hour. Come downstairs, there's some ponies you should meet."

I followed her down. Her friends were down there.

"Whoa... I've never seen a real human before!" said Pinkie.

"So this is the guy?" asked Rainbow.

"I'm... the guy." I said, "Name's Phil. Who are you all?"

They introduced themselves.

"Alright. Friends within seconds. This is pretty cool. So why are you all here? I interrupt some sort of... thing?" I asked.

"Princess Celestia told me to bring them with us. I figured that you should meet them before we left. We were sent tickets for the train. We should actually leave. We're departing soon."

"That's awesome. I've never been on a train before." I said, "Lets get goin'."

We left for the station. Ponies around town went out of their way to avoid us. Likely because of me.

"Oh, no! I almost forgot something!" said Pinkie. She jumped in front of us. "I haven't welcomed you to Ponyville yet!"

"Uhh... That won't be necessary." I said, "I already feel welcome."

"Nonsense!" she said.

"Alright, sounds fun."

"Great!" said Pinkie, "Stay here, I'll be right back."

She ran off. As soon as she turned a corner, she came back with a wagon following her. Welcome wagon. Funny.

She started singing a song and jumping around. To be honest, I wasn't really paying attention. I just stood there smiling like an idiot. There was a cannon and confetti... and probably something else.

"Aw, I did it backwards." she said, "Oh well."

"Alright. Thanks Pinkie! I feel welcomed-er." I said.

"Well, now that that's over, lets go." said Twilight.

The ponies at the station didn't really seem to like me. A pony was staring at us from behind a newspaper. We got aboard the train.

Twilight took me to a room in the train and said, "It'll take us a day to get there, so you can sleep here when it's time."

"This train is pretty nice." I said.

They made final calls for boarding. A few minutes later, we started moving.

"I'm hungry, what's for breakfast?" I asked.

"It's 3:00." said Twilight.

"So, what? No breakfast?"

"I'll get you some food." said Pinkie, "Be right back!"

It only took her a few seconds to come back with an entire dessert cart. "I didn't know what to get, so I got everything."

"Oh god... It's beautiful." I said, looking at the towering pile of food. We all got something from it. "Thanks, Pinkie."

"No problem!"

"Man, best day of my life, right here." I said, "And there's food, so that pretty much makes it unsurpassable."

"Why is it the best day of your life?" asked Pinkie.

"Free food." I said, "I mean, look at this thing. It's food, it's free, it's free food. If that doesn't make it the best day ever, I don't know what will."

I grabbed some more food. It tasted awesome.

"Hey, save some for us, man." said Rainbow.

"What are you..." I looked at the almost empty plate. "Ok then... I ate more than I usually do."

"Between you and Pinkie, the rest of us barely got anything."

I looked at Pinkie, then shrugged. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Well, don't worry about it."

"Done and done. Hey, could you tell me more about this place? You know, stuff like that Nightmare Moon thing. And that Princess Celestia pony... and pretty much this world in general. I've never been here before, so I don't know."

Of course, I already knew this stuff. I just asked that so she could kill time.

Twilight told me what I needed to know, with the other ponies chiming in every so often. They talked a little in-depth about themselves and their town, along with Canterlot, the Everfree, and gave me some basic knowledge of Equestria. They also talked about the princesses and Nightmare Moon, telling about how they defeated her and about the Elements.

'To defeat the ponies, you defeat the Elements of Harmony.' I thought, bored, 'Then the challenge lies in the royalty, and defeating Discord will be the biggest problem, provided he decides to help them. There's at least a 90% chance that he will. They're friends.'

I kinda faded in and out during storytime. I saw the pony who was looking at us before. He was at the other end of the car, still staring.

'Whatever.'

"So is there anything else you would like to know?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm curious about Princess Luna. If this Nightmare Moon thing is popping up like this, then would she be safe?"

"I sure hope so." she said with a sad voice, "She hasn't really had much time to... adjust to her new life."

"I'm sure she'll be fine." I said, "Thanks for all the information. If I'm gonna stay here for a long time, that'll help."

"You're welcome."

I stretched myself out a little. "I'm gonna check out the train. I guess I'll see you all in a bit."

"Right."

I walked back to the caboose, then out the door to the little balcony-thing.

"Man, trains are sweet. I've never gone this fast before." I said to myself, "And these ponies make this even better. I am so glad I became their friends instead of their enemies. That would've sucked."

I walked back inside, then headed towards the front of the train. The staring pony shot a glance at me as I passed by him, but continued looking down the hall.

"Well, somepony's got some post traumatic stress disorder." I said.

The rest of the train wasn't very interesting. All except for the lunch car. Unfortunately, I was already full so I didn't really care.

I went back, looking for entertainment. 'Even surrounded by these awesome ponies I'm bored. I suck. Oh well.'

There he is again, staring down the hall. What is he looking at?

He didn't see me come in. I followed his gaze to Fluttershy, who was resting on a seat a little away from the others.

"Hey buddy, how ya doin'?" I asked him.

He looked at me, then said, "Get away from me. I don't want anything to do with you."

"Harsh. Whatcha lookin' at?"

"I said get away from me."

"Alright. Sorry for botherin' ya."

I went over to Fluttershy and sat next to her. "I have a question for you." I said.

"Oh, alright."

"What do you think about all this? Going to see the Princesses and such."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I think it'll be fine."

"Alright, cool." I said.

I reached into my pockets, hoping to find my ipod. Nope. 'Quite unfortunate. Quite unfortunate indeed. My music could come in handy about now. I hope I don't get too bored.'

"Hey, you know that guy over there?" I asked her.

"Yes I do. His name is Lightning Dasher. He's very nice."

"Lightning Dasher's here?" asked Rainbow, "He owes me ten bits, where is that guy?"

I pointed at him. She went over to him and they started talking. I went over to them.

"Yes I did!" she said.

"No you didn't. I didn't see it."

"You saw it didn't ya, Phil?" she asked me.

"Uh... Yes?"

"See? Now pay up!"

"Alright, fine." he said, reaching into his bag. He gave her some money, then she went back to her seat.

"Thanks a lot, pal." he said.

"Oh, shut up." I said, "Hey, could ya do me a favor and quit starin' like that? It's startin' to creep me out."

He didn't say anything.

I sat next to him. "Dude, if you're gonna ask her out, then do it." I said, trying to embarrass him, "She's pretty cool."

"What? I don't like Fluttershy! Get away from me, you jerk!"

"Alright. Sorry, bud." I said, getting up. I laughed a little.

"Wait." he said.

"What up?"

"You're friends with her, right? Can you see if she..."

"I don't get involved in things like that, bud. Although she did tell me that she thought you were nice. By the way, name's Phil."

"Lightning Dasher."

"So are we cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool."

"Alright, cool. Whatcha headed to Canterlot for?"

"Just seeing some friends. What about you?"

"Gotta see the princess."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Something pretty big happened a little while back, and I'm here to help solve it. It's kind of secret, so I can't really explain it."

"Alright."

We talked a little more, then he yawned.

"Man, it's getting late. I better hit the sack."

"Yeah. Hey, you're alright in my book."

"You too."

"See ya later." I said.

I headed back to my bed. The clock said it was 10:30. I went back to where we were staying and tried to get some sleep.

Try as I might, I just couldn't fall asleep. I looked at the clock. 12:00. I sighed. "Oh well, I guess. I'm not really that tired anyways."

I sat up and looked out the window. Full moon.

I heard whispering.

"Who's there?" I asked quietly.

It stopped. I shrugged and walked back out of the room. It was a little eerie without anypony else around.

"I need something to do. If this boredom keeps up I'm gonna go crazy." I said to myself.

I noticed that Twilight's light was still on. I tapped on the door.

"Come in." I opened the door. She was reading a book on her bed.

"Do you have an extra book or something I could borrow?" I asked.

"Well, not to dissuade you from reading or anything, but shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Can't. I tried. Not very hard, but I did."

"Oh. The only books I brought with me are non-fiction."

"I'm bored, I'll read anything."

She gave me one.

"Thanks."

"You should really try to get some sleep. Meeting the princess is a big deal. You wouldn't want to be tired for it."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

I went back to my room and started reading. It was mostly about the history of Canterlot.

I didn't get to sleep at all. I was up all night. It started getting bright outside.

As enthralling and interesting as this book was, I finally set it down and looked out the window at Canterlot.

"Dude, that place looks awesome." I said, "Whatever happens, this should be an interesting experience. I just hope that I don't make Celestia or Luna mad. Alright, you can do this."

I got myself some early breakfast, then waited for the others to get up.

"Did you get to sleep?" asked Twilight.

"Nope. Wasn't really sleepy anyways."

She sighed. "At least you don't seem all that tired. Do you do this a lot?"

"I'm out before 11:00 usually." I gave her book back. "Thanks again."

The train entered the station and we all got off. I didn't see Lightning Dasher get off. Maybe he was still sleeping or something.

Two ponies walked over to us. One was a royal guard and the other was a normal mare.

"You must be Phil." she said.

"Yep."

"Well, you're taller than I expected." she said cheerfully, "We're here to bring you to the castle."

I eyed the guard. "Alright, thanks."

"No time to waste. Don't want to keep the Princess waiting."

We started following them. The guard was watching me closely. I expected that to happen, but I still didn't like it.

"Man, this is pretty awesome." I said, "I've never met royalty before. Does it matter much how I act?"

"You should try to act civil while you're in their presence." said Rarity, "It'd be rude otherwise."

"Good thinking." I said.

When we got there, two guards stopped us.

"Princess Celestia has requested to see the human alone." one said.

I looked at my friends. "Guess I'll see ya later."

I followed them in. They brought me straight to Princess Celestia. I bowed to her. She was more majestic in person.

She raised her hoof. "Welcome to Equestria, Phil the human. I am Princess Celestia, the ruler of this kingdom."

"Hello, Your Highness."

She walked over to me. "It's been a very long time since a human has been in Equestria."

"Well, none of us know how that happened."

"I don't know either."

"Hey wait... Wasn't there another princess? Princess Luna?"

"My sister has caught an illness and is resting at the moment. That brings me to my next question. What do you know about Nightmare Moon?" she asked, starting to walk around me.

"Not much. Just stuff your student, Twilight Sparkle, has told me. She's very informative."

"Then do you have an idea of why I was told that you said she was back while you slept?"

"Sorry, I don't know."

She kept walking around me, examining me. "I'm curious about you, Phil. It's actually quite amazing to see you here."

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you think I'm dangerous?"

She stopped walking. "Hmm... That's a tough question. You don't seem dangerous, but I really can't tell. Do you think you'll be a danger to my ponies?"

"I don't wanna be." I said, "You ponies are pretty cool. I'd prefer keeping you safe than putting you in danger."

"That's good." she said. She resumed her walking. "I don't remember this very well, but can humans use magic?"

"They aren't suppose to." I said, "I can't."

"Do you have a family back in your world?"

"Yeah. We're a normal family for the most part."

"Do you know why you're here?"

"Nope."

"I want to find out how you're involved in this, Phil. Have you had contact with Nightmare Moon before?"

"No."

"Did you know who she was?"

"No."

"Can you explain why this is happening?"

"No."

"Do you understand any of this?"

"Not really."

She stood in front of me. She had a serious expression on her face. I wasn't out of the woods yet. "Send my student and her friends in." she ordered a guard.

He left, then returned with them. They all bowed to Celestia.

Celestia went over to them and gestured towards me. "Twilight, do you think that he's dangerous?"

'This is an awful lot of suspicion just for me. Just as well, I suppose.' I thought.

"Not at all, Princess." she said.

"Do you trust him?"

"Yes."

"And the rest of you?" she asked.

They all nodded in agreement.

"He's our friend."

I smiled at them. "Thank you. Glad to hear it." I said. 'At least someone trusts me. I don't even trust me.'

Celestia nodded. Her expression changed to a cheerful one and she said, "It looks like you're quite the friendly human. I'm glad to see things turn out like this."

"Wouldn't want it any other way, Princess."

***Lightning Dasher is an oc from Tristandash. I liked the guy, and I liked the oc, so why not?**

**I'm having a good time writing this story right now. I have a lot of things I'd like to try out, so I should be able to get a few more chapters done at this pace. Maybe.**

**I'm confident in my ability to succeed.**

**Well that's the end of this chapter. Remember to rate the chapter, comment the chapter, and subscribe if you want to see chapters similar to this one. See ya.**


	3. How are you today, Princess Luna?

We spent a few days in Canterlot. Three nights straight and I haven't gotten any sleep. Oddly enough, it didn't bother me as much as it should. I spent my nights wandering around, sometimes going outside. During the day I was usually in the library, looking for books about Nightmare Moon with Twilight. Either that or I was hanging out with Pinkie, or sometimes Rainbow Dash.

I knew that I was being followed throughout the nights. I didn't see them, but I knew they were there.

I didn't feel tired, but I knew that when I finally fell asleep, you'd have to give Pinkie a megaphone just to wake me.

I checked on Luna once. The guards by her room even let me in, but she was still sleeping.

We all met up with Celestia again. She didn't look all that happy.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"It's my sister. She hasn't woken up yet." she said, "It's been four days."

"Should we wake her?"

"No." I said.

They all looked at me.

"Let her sleep for now." I said, "Luna is Nightmare Moon, and if she's coming back, then Luna must be trying to stop her."

"That's... I didn't think of that." said Celestia.

"I think we can forget about the whole me-being-here thing for now."

She nodded. "Twilight, it's time to equip the Elements of Harmony again."

'No, it's too soon. I don't know if I'm strong enough yet.'

"What could you do with them?" I asked, "I don't know if zapping Luna is gonna help."

"It's better to be safe than sorry."

I nodded. "Alright. Can I come with?"

Celestia stared at me for a few seconds, thinking it over. Finally, she said, "Sorry, but you can't come with."

"Ok. I'll be in the library." I said, "I'll see ya in a few."

Celestia gestured at a guard and he walked over to me.

I shrugged. "Lets go, buddy." We walked off.

"Don't you trust him, Princess?" asked Twilight.

She didn't answer. She headed to the chamber where the Elements were held, with the others following close behind.

I grabbed a random book and started reading it. In no way was it interesting, but I had absolutely nothing to do.

The guard kept staring at me. He definitely wasn't having fun. Wasn't my problem, though.

I started looking around the library from behind my book. I don't know why, it wasn't even that interesting. I closed my eyes.

'Man, I don't feel so good. Ok... just calm down. You need to calm down. What's... I-I can't... I... can't...'

I heard a scream in the distance, then slumped against the bookshelf and fell asleep.

* * *

"What was that?!"

"Luna!" said Celestia, "She's in trouble."

They all put on their Elements and ran to Luna's room.

She was sitting upright, sweating and panting. She seemed terrified.

"Luna? Are you ok?" asked Celestia.

"Y-Yeah." she said, "I just... had a nightmare. That's all."

"It's alright Luna, we all know." she said.

"You do? How?"

"A human said it while he slept. He said that she's back."

"A human? There's a human in Equestria!?" she said, almost yelling. She got out of the bed. "Take me to him. Right now."

"Is everything alright?"

"Right now!" she yelled.

Celestia was taken aback. Luna doesn't get this fierce.

"With me, all of you." she said.

They all went to the library at a high pace. Luna barged in and yelled out, "Where is he?!"

The guard got startled and said, "Over here."

Luna ran over to us.

All the ferocity that she had seemed to disappear. She breathed a sigh of relief. "It isn't him." she said.

"What do you mean? He's the only human here." said Celestia.

"It isn't him." she repeated.

"Finally, it's been three days since he's gotten to sleep." said Twilight, "I was beginning to wonder if humans slept at all."

Luna took a look at me. "There was a human in my dream, but he was older than this one. Years older."

"What was your dream about?" asked Celestia.

"A human somehow got to Equestria, and he and Nightmare Moon attacked and defeated us. I thought she was gone. How did she come back?"

"I don't know, but we have the Elements of Harmony ready in case anything happens."

* * *

It was freezing. I looked around. Pitch black. 'Well this is just fantastic. The animation budget ran out.'

A blue mist slowly surrounded me. I heard shrill laughing.

"Well someone's having a good time!" I said, "Who's laughing? Can I get some of that?"

She stepped out of the mist. I remembered what happened before.

"Nightmare Moon." I said.

She was still weak, but noticeably stronger. Her armor had been repaired.

"Human." she replied.

"Man, do I have some questions for you."

"You think I'll answer them?"

"Fair enough. Proceed."

"I have some commands for you to follow."

"I'm not gonna help you. Go screw yourself." I said, "Or better yet, go screw me."

She cast a spell on me. I froze up, then felt myself walk towards her, but I wasn't in control of myself.

"You don't understand who you're dealing with." she said, "I'm far more powerful than you. I can force you to carry out my orders if I need to."

"Then why are you telling me anything?"

"Because I know that you're willing to help me."

"Yeah. So what?"

"I'm giving you a choice."

"You can't control me outside of here, can you?" I asked. She made me punch myself in the face.

"Will you help me, or will I have to make you do it?"

I didn't say anything. I just gave her a blank stare. I tried to study her. For the most part, she was unpredictable. I knew what she wanted, but I didn't know how she could get it.

'It's impossible to best these ponies. Why doesn't she realize that? Even with me helping her, we couldn't take them on.'

"Well?" she asked.

"You are Nightmare Moon... and you need my help."

"I..."

"Let me speak for a minute, please. Now, I may help you, or I may not. I've thought about how to take on these ponies. It's just something I gave some thought to a while ago. There are no less than three gigantic problems with that. The least troublesome would be the Elements, because you could just steal them or something, but then you run the risk of having them discovered, but you can't do anything else about them. The biggest would be the freakin' God of Chaos himself, Discord. Between those, you'd have to deal with everything that these ponies could throw at you, and you couldn't beat them before, so how could you beat them now?"

She smiled. "I'm actually glad that you've already figured that out. I've watched this world very carefully since the moment I was defeated. I know these, and you knowing it saves time."

"You don't even have a real body anymore. Your power lies within Luna. You can't achieve anything close to the power you've had before. You're a shadow, a ghost compared to your former self."

I seemed to have hit a weak spot in her plan. She looked away and processed what I said.

"Then I'll take your body." she finally said, "You possess more darkness within you than any pony."

"Or I may reduce you to nothing." I said.

'Damn, I'm never like this. What's with me today? I like it.'

She laughed at me. "Impossible."

"Don't underestimate any of us if you wanna win. Not even me."

"You stupid child. You can't compare to my power."

"I'm trying to help you here. These ponies aren't my boss, but then again, neither are you. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Nightmare Moon." I said, "Don't misunderstand me, though. I still respect you. We have little more to say to each other. Release me. Keeping me here any longer is pointless."

"So be it." she said.

I felt myself waking up. "Until we meet again, my friend."

* * *

"He's back!"

"Are you alright, Phil?"

I sat up. "Yeah. I'm fine. I had a weird dream."

"What was it about?" asked Luna.

"Can't remember, but it was weird. Hello, Princess Luna."

"Just Luna is fine."

I looked around. Celestia was the only other one here.

"You were asleep for three days." said Celestia, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Perfectly fine. Thanks for waitin' for me. Did I miss anything?"

"Nothing very important."

"Hey... I heard you scream, Luna. What was that about?"

"It was a simple nightmare. Nothing more."

"Oh, ok. Where are those other ponies?" I asked.

"They all went back home."

I nodded, then got of the bed. "What are you all looking at me for? I'm fine."

"Something strange is going on." said Luna.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"As the Princess of the Night, I am able to enter the dreams of anypony I choose. Everypony except you. While you slept, I attempted to speak with you inside your dream, but was unsuccessful. I'm very curious about you. I'd like to try again at a later date, if you'll allow me."

"Hey, you need me to do anything for ya, just ask. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now Luna, lets be friends."

She smiled. "I'd like that."

"Also for now, breakfast. Sleeping for three days means no food for three days, and I am starvin'. Whatcha got for eats around this place?"

Celestia laughed. "Don't worry about that. We have something for you."

"Aren't humans... carnivorous?" asked Luna.

"Um..."

They both stared at me.

"Well, I'm omnivorous. I'll eat anything if it's good. I don't really need meat, though. Don't worry, I'm not a hunter. I won't go around catching prey like a wolf."

"Do you promise?"

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." I said.

"You... know Pinkie Pie's special promise?"

"It's a promise from back home." I lied, "If Pinkie does it, it's just a coincidence."

"Alright." she said, "Luna, can you join him?"

"With pleasure, sister."

She brought me to the kitchen. This place was huge.

"You sure you got enough?" I asked.

"It's the largest in Canterlot, fit for royalty. I'll have our chefs prepare something for you. What would you like?"

"No idea. I don't eat a lot of the things you ponies eat. Probably."

"What do you usually eat for breakfast?"

"Just a bowl of cereal, maybe some toast. That's pretty much it, actually."

"That's..."

"Pancakes!" I said suddenly, "This isn't even a debate anymore. Pancakes."

"Alright. I'll have them make you some pancakes."

"Booyah." 'I'm not even gonna question why the Princess' chefs are making me pancakes. Never turn down free food.'

She talked to one of them, then pointed at me. He nodded, then got to work. She walked back over to me.

"So... What else does a human eat?" she asked.

"Humans can eat anything. On rare occasions, they even eat inedible things, such as lightbulbs. Now, I don't want you to use me as the norm for all humans. We're way too different from each other. I'm not entirely normal either."

"In what ways are you not normal?"

"I don't really know. Lets change the subject."

"Alright. So if you're not a normal human, then I'll ask about you. What do you like to do for fun?"

"Usually I play video games."

"What are those?"

"Well, they're games that you play on a... thing called a console. Hmm... How can I put this... Uh..."

"Excuse me, but your meal is ready." said the chef.

He gestured to the cart next to him. Luna opened it. A nice stack of then were piled up on a plate and covered with some butter an a lot of syrup. 'Damn, he got those done fast.'

"Those look like the most delicious pancakes I've ever seen." I said.

He smiled. "Enjoy!"

Luna covered them back up and said, "Take them to the table. We can eat there."

We followed him to the table. Luna sat down, and I sat next to her.

They set out plates for us and gave us some utensils. I eyed the container of pancakes.

"Luna, I have to ask. How much emphasis do you put on manners?"

"Please, be dignified." she said, "It would be rude to my chef."

I sighed, then said, "As you wish, madam."

They lifted the lid. Luna got herself some, and I did pretty good in getting myself some. I even cut them before devouring them. it didn't feel right in my mind.

"Well... That's certainly the best breakfast food I've ever eaten." I said. I was still kinda hungry, but I just ignored it.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." said the chef.

"Still wanna know about those games?" I asked Luna.

"Sure."

"Ok then." I gave it some thought, then said, "Imagine a movie where you can completely control the main character. That's kinda what a video game is like. There are thousands of these things. Some are way more fun than others. There are different genres like movies, too. Playing video games fills most of my time up."

"What exactly do you mean that they're like a movie?"

"Well, say that there's a movie you really like. It could be really action packed and have all that cool stuff in it. A video game makes that movie playable, and allows you to go through it in a more in-depth fashion."

"I still don't understand. What do you do in these games?"

"It depends on the game. Like in one game, you start out as a mercenary who fights with a group of eco-terrorists to save the world and in the end they fight this really strong guy with awesome hair. I'm talking exceeding the grading criteria awesome. It's long and white and shiny and it just fits him so much. It is just so awesome."

"Hair?"

"Hey, you've never seen it. And the guy goes insane and tries to become a god, so you gotta take him down." I sighed. "It would be easier to explain with a game with me, but I don't have one. They're really fun."

"Well if you come across one, be sure to tell me, ok?"

"Sure."

"Other than that, I listen to music. All the time. Sometimes while playing video games. I have this little music player that had 2260 songs on it. Most of which I liked. And now I don't have it. Not having my music ticks me off."

"That's a lot of music."

"And I'm in school at the moment, so I... do that."

"You're still in school? How is it? I haven't been a student at a school for a long time."

"I don't do my homework or study, and I pass all my classes with Bs or above, so I guess I'm doing pretty good."

"Impressive." she said.

I gave it some thought. "Huh... I don't do much. Man, I get bored easy."

"Was that it?"

"Just about." I stood up and pushed my chair in.

"What do you want to do now?" she asked.

"Dunno."

She got up as well. "Walk with me."

"Alrighty then."

She led me through the castle a little, then we went outside into the garden.

"So tell me Phil, do you like it here in Equestria?"

"Yes I do. You ponies are really friendly and I've had lots of fun here."

"Do you like it more than your world?"

"Gonna go with yes again."

"Why?"

"I'd rather not say."

"Why not?"

"I don't really wanna talk about it now."

"Tell me."

"With all due respect Luna, it's not your business."

"Alright." She sat over by a tree and patted the ground next to her. I joined her.

She started gazing to the sky. "Do you like my sister?" she asked. The tone of her voice was very relaxed, almost sleepy.

"Yeah."

"Do you like me?"

"Yep."

"What about the others? Do you like them?"

"I like all you ponies." I said.

She leaned against me. "That's good. I'm really glad we're friends."

"Me too."

"Hey... If it isn't too much to ask, may I sleep here?" she asked, "I feel very tired all of the sudden."

"Um... Yeah, sure. Go ahead."

"Thanks."

She snuggled up against me and fell asleep.

'Ok... This is really weird.' I thought, 'Why is she so tired? Maybe this Nightmare Moon thing is taking a lot out of her. I hope she's gonna be ok. I need to find a way to fix this, and fast. Maybe the answer isn't in a book. Maybe I can find it in the world. It could just be friendship, like before. That would be nice. A simple answer to a complicated question. Well, not that complicated.'

I looked at Luna. I hadn't noticed it before, but she looked exhausted. Almost like she ran a marathon. 'Why didn't I see this?'

She was out like a light. She looked really happy, even while she slept.

'Man, she's really cute. This is awesome. She's awesome. They're all awesome. Awesome to the max.'

***I'm going somewhere with this story. I haven't worked out the fine details, but it's getting there.**

**You've been hit by.**

**You've been struck by. **

**A smooth chapter update.**


	4. Not having very much fun

Luna seemed really out of it after she woke up. She could hardly remember the conversation we had. It was like she could fall over at any moment. I stuck with her for a while to make sure she was ok.

"I'm sorry I'm such a problem." she said, "I must not have been well yet."

"Lets get you back to your room so you can sleep." I said, "I can't have my new friend sick all the time."

"Thank you." She wobbled a little and bumped into me. "Sorry."

"Jeez, you don't look so good."

"I'll be fine." she said, "It's just a cold."

"Good." 'She's lyin'. She's really sick. Celestia needs to see her, now.'

I saw the guards outside her door.

"Hey, we need some help over here!" I said.

They took one look at us and quickly rushed over.

"Her sickness is back again. I'll go get Celestia." I said.

"No, stay here." she said weakly, "With me."

The guards looked at each other, then nodded. "I'll go get the Princess." one said.

Luna walked to her bed and crawled on it.

"Ma'am, are you well?" asked her guard.

"I'm fine. I'm completely fine."

Her appearance betrayed her words. She was completely drained.

"Goodnight, Luna." I said.

She didn't respond.

'Damn, this is bad.' I took a deep breath. 'Ok... Ok. Calm down, buddy. Getting worked up over it isn't gonna help you any more than it will her. Luna will be fine. She has to be, she's a main character. Kinda.'

I leaned against the wall. 'What caused this?'

Celestia quietly came into the room and looked over her sister.

"This isn't good." she whispered.

I walked out of the room. Celestia followed me, then said, "What did you two do?"

"Nothing." I said, "Not enough to cause that, at least. We just talked, and then she fell asleep against me."

"Against you?"

"I want to find out why she's so weak all of the sudden. Luna's a strong pony."

"Don't worry about her so much. This has been happening for almost a month now, this on-and-off sickness. They haven't been getting worse, but I've had to take over her duty raising the moon again. It's left me exhausted. She'll be fine. She just needs some time, as you have said."

'Both are weak and exhausted. Jotting that down in the 'probably shouldn't, but will forget anyways' journal.'

"Fantastic. Just... fantastic. Don't you ponies have some kind of magical... something that cures all... things?"

"Not that I am aware of." she said.

"Isn't there something I could do for her? I don't like sittin' around."

"I've tried everything." she said, "The only thing we can do is wait."

I gave it some thought, but couldn't get anywhere. "This sucks."

"I agree."

I took a deep breath. "I'm gonna wait for her. I won't feel right doing anything else."

"You seem very attached to her."

"Hey, Luna's my friend. Besides, she asked me to stay."

"She did?"

"Yeah."

"Strange."

"I know. We just met each other this morning. I'm gonna go back in there."

Celestia followed me back in. I looked at Luna, then leaned against the wall again. Celestia looked between me and Luna.

She started thinking hard about something. A little while later, her eyes opened wide in realization. I looked at her.

"I need to go." she said.

I nodded. After she left, I walked over to Luna and studied her, but didn't see anything that helped.

I sat on a chair, and waited. I looked at the clock. 4:00.

'I haven't eaten in like five hours. Meh, I'll be fine. I'll get something before I go to sleep or something.'

Luna hadn't changed in the slightest. She just laid there and looked cute.

'Why did she sleep on me like that if she had this awesome bed like twenty feet away? This doesn't make any sense. Unless... unless it does. I guess she might... like me. But after just two hours? And me? Me? Wait, she was just delirious from being so exhausted. That makes more sense. I guess I'll find out when she wakes up.'

I sighed. 'This is boring. And to think, if I wasn't here, I'd be playing some Modern Photosynthesis Shit 2 right now. I know which I'd prefer.'

There was a knock on the door, then it opened without waiting for a response. Discord walked in. He was smaller than normal, probably for convenience.

He took a look at Luna, then at me. He didn't seem very happy.

"Well, she's my friend too." he said to me, "You must be the human I've heard about. I must say, it's amazing that you're here. Humans aren't supposed to be in Equestia."

I shrugged. "You must be..."

"You don't have to pretend around me. I know all about the show and you bronies and all that."

"Alrighty then. So what's up?"

"I'm just checking on her. She shouldn't be so sick."

"Alright, cool."

He walked over to me. "You got a big adventure in front of you, kid. You know that, right?"

"Absolutely. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, I suppose."

"This must be so boring for a someone like you."

"Yep."

"Sucks to be you. I'll see you later, kid. I have something I have to do."

"Right."

He left. I thought about what I could do, but didn't get anything. 'I'm bored, case closed.'

I didn't have any trouble falling asleep this time. I didn't get any weird dreams either.

I woke up a few hours later. Or maybe even further away. Didn't really matter.

"Come." I heard.

"Your fuck?" I asked.

"This way."

I got up and followed the voice. Luna wasn't in her bed anymore.

It led me through the castle to a dead end.

"Secret passage?" I asked it, poking an ajar brick. The wall opened up in front of me. "I love being right."

It led into a dark staircase. I didn't see any torches, tinderboxes, lanterns, or oil around, so I said, "Screw this, I'm going back to bed."

I felt somepony push me in, then the wall closed. I backed up to the wall. "Fuck you... and all that you stand for." I said, shaking a little.

'It's too dark. It's way too dark. Holy crap... It's dark. Dark... dark... dark...' I don't know if I mentioned this, but I'm terrified of dark places.

"Proceed."

"Sc-screw you." I said.

"Move!" the voice shouted.

I realized I had no choice and took a few deep breaths. "You can do this, man. You can do this."

I started singing a song to myself to keep my mind off of the darkness. It kinda helped.

I slowly moved down the stairs. Whoever was making me do this was a twisted individual. Almost as twisted as my neck was gonna be if I missed a step.

Eventually I made it to the bottom. I was greeted by none other than Nightmare Moon... again.

"This is... this is getting kinda old." I said.

"Come with me." she said.

"Well, a civil confrontation for once."

"With me." she said.

I walked up to her, then she led me down the hallway.

"Do you know why I've brought you here?"

"Strategical advantage for a future battle? Make a quick getaway in here."

"Celestia is the only one who knows of this place other than myself. It's a way out of the castle. We may talk in peace here."

"And you couldn't come to me in my dream because?"

"You forget your dreams, and I need you to remember this."

"Fair enough."

"From now on, I will join you while you live." she said, "You will serve me while consciously receiving my orders."

"I don't have any problems so for." I said.

"Physically, you won't be able to tell anypony. Not even Luna. I simply won't let you."

"Alright."

"Not even a complaint? You're making this too easy for me, human."

"If I have no choice, then I have no choice. Why fight a battle I can't win, Nightmare? Do you hear me? Why fight a battle you can't win? Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"This isn't a game, you know." she said.

"It is to me. Life is just a game, and you gotta keep playing, even if you're losing. I refuse to lose something I can win, but if I can't, then I'll do my best to help the other players."

"You speak very strangely."

"That's what happens when... Anyways, I have some questions." I said, "Are you the reason that my sleep schedule is all messed up?"

"Yes I am."

"Are you affecting Luna?"

"Partly. She did genuinely have a cold, though. I didn't intend to keep her bedridden. The weaker she is, the weaker I am."

"Will the Princesses be able to find you out on their own?"

"I don't believe that they are able to."

"Are you my friend?"

"We are enemies, human. Do not forget that."

I nodded. "You're using me to gain power, but what exactly is it that does it for you? Despair? Pain? Sorrow?"

"Negative energy." she said.

"Alright. Hey, if you succeed in your struggle against these ponies, will I get anything out of it?"

"I'll reward you if you deserve it."

"And if you fail... Will we be friends then?"

"I will not fail."

"Just answer my question."

"Why do you want to become my friend so badly?"

"Quit avoiding the question and answer me."

"I'll think about it, human. For now, return to where you slept, and remember... I'm always watching."

She disappeared. I felt her enter my mind. It was strange, like a part of myself I couldn't access. I realized that if I was able to get pass her barrier, I could get access to her thoughts and emotions.

I walked back up the stairs in the pitch blackness. For some reason, just knowing that somepony, even her, was with me made me feel so much braver.

The wall opened up. Nopony was outside it, so I quickly headed back to Luna's room.

She was still sleeping. 'Ok, this is getting kinda repetitive.' I thought, 'Man, if something new doesn't happen soon, I'm gonna freak out.'

I sat back in my chair.

'Nightmare, you there?'

_'I am.'_

'If you really want to beat the ponies, we'll have to work together. If we don't, then you can kiss your goals goodbye.'

_'I already know that.'_

'We could just go on a killing spree, you know? Take them all out one by one. It'd be easy. We got our first target right here. Just a little jerk to the neck. She won't feel a thing.'

_'I may be evil, but I'm not that evil.'_

'I'm just kiddin' around.'

_'Don't kid like that.'_

'Whatever, I'm going to bed.'

I managed to fall asleep again.

* * *

"Spike, did you find anything?" asked Twilight.

"No, nothing."

"Keep looking, it has to be here somewhere."

"Do you even know what you're looking for?"

"Of course I... well..."

"I was having a good dream, Twilight. And you just had to wake me for this."

"Hey, I'm trying to help my friend!" she said.

"Sorry." he said, "I just don't think you have any books that can help."

"We already went through the royal Canterlot library. There has to be something here."

"I don't know, Twilight. What do you have that the Princesses don't?"

She sighed. "I... suppose you're right. You can go back to bed. I'm going to keep this up for a while."

"Good luck, Twi." Spike headed back to his bed.

"There has to be something." she said.

***I will never comment about the time it takes to make another one of these. I'm horrible at keeping time. If you've followed anything else I've done, you'd know this. Also I haven't given up on those, if you've been wondering. Just stopped. For now.**

**If you have a question, comment, concern, blood sacrifice, anything, write a review. If you don't, review anyways.**

**If you want to speak with me, feel free to message me. Or not.**

**Random thing of the day/week/month:**

**I enjoy tacos to the fullest extent of the law.**


	5. The potion of power

Luna was already up by the time I woke up. She was eating some food on her bed, looking at me.

"Mornin', Luna. Feelin' alright?" I asked.

"I feel great." she said.

"Fantabulous."

"I think this ailment is finally going away."

"Wonderful! Celebrations are in order! Cheese! For everyone!"

"Cheese?"

"Wait, scratch that. Cheese for no one. I guess that's as much a celebration if you don't like cheese, true?"

"I... guess." She laughed. "Why do we scratch the cheese? I like cheese."

"I too enjoy cheese." I eyed her food. "You gonna share that with the class?"

She gave me a plate of pancakes.

"I had one made for you."

"That's awesome. Thanks Luna. Hey, ya remember what happened before ya conked out yesterday?"

"The last thing I recall was you talking about a man's hair. It's been a while since I've had such a strange conversation."

"Ya see your sister yet?"

"No, not yet. I think she left the castle. I couldn't find her."

"Huh... Well, ya wanna go find her or something?"

"Maybe later."

"Alrighty then. Man, this is some good food."

'Still there, Nightmare?' I asked her.

'What do you want?'

'I was just wondering.'

We finished our meals, then I said, "Sure you're alright?"

"I believe so."

"Good, 'cause you acted kinda weird yesterday."

"I was acting weird?"

"Kinda."

"How so?"

"Well, ya slept against me. I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm not as comfy as your bed. You were asleep for like four hours or something."

"Oh. I'm... sorry."

"Well, I didn't say I didn't like it."

"What?"

"It's nice havin' a snuggle buddy." I said.

"I can't disagree."

"Well then... Wanna go for another walk?"

"Another?"

"Yeah, we walked around yesterday for a bit."

"Sorry. I can't remember that."

"Don't worry about it, I can't remember what I had for breakfast."

She looked at my plate. "You still have breakfast on your face."

"I always have breakfast on my face." I stood up and held my hand up to her. "How about it?"

"Sounds like fun."

"Lets go."

She grabbed it and stood next to me. "Where are we going?"

"Just for a walk." I said, "We'll hang out for a little."

"Alright. Lead on, then."

We walked out of the room. Luna looked healthy enough, but I wasn't entirely sure yet. Two guards joined us without a word. We aimlessly walked around the castle. Sometimes Luna spoke to me, sometimes I spoke to her.

I started talking to Nightmare while we walked. 'Hey, I gotta ask you something.'

_'What?'_

'What exactly is negative energy?'

_'Negative energy is a special form of energy created with evil thoughts. Ponies have few evil thoughts, so they don't have a lot of negative energy.'_

'Evil thoughts? Man, I suggested murdering these ponies last night. No wonder you're using a human.'

_'That was an awful idea.' _she said.

'Does negative energy boost the power of dark magic?'

_'Yes it does.'_

'And the Elements... do you think I could, like, overload them with negative energy to make them break or something?'

_'The Elements of Harmony are indestructible.'_

'You broke them on your own before, remember?'

_'Yes, but those weren't... Wait, how did you know that?'_

I ignored her question. 'I'm an outside force with a huge amount of negative energy. If I could somehow pour my negative energy into the Elements, do you think I could break them?'

_'I don't have a clue. You're thinking too far ahead. We need the Elements first before we can try anything. Idiot.'_

"Luna, you still feeling ok?" I asked her.

"I feel fantastic." she said, "Spending time with my friends always makes me feel better."

"Awesome. Awesome to the max."

"Although..."

"Huh?"

"I think it's time I started to resume my duties. I've done very little work since I've been struck with this condition. My sister has done my work for me, but she deserves a rest."

"That sounds like it'll be boring."

"Unfortunately, it will be."

"You'll definitely need some company for that." I said.

"That's kind of you to offer. Thank you."

"Anytime. We should find Celestia first."

"Indeed." She turned to the guards. "Did my sister mention where she is to either of you?"

"No, ma'am."

Luna sighed. "Where is she? It isn't like her to disappear like this."

"She'll show up. Until then, we postpone doing anything official and do something fun."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Dunno. I'm not good with deciding what to do. I don't think we should leave the castle yet, though. You might need to do... something healthy... or something. You understand what I mean, right?"

"That was so infuriating. Each time I felt like I was getting better, I had to spend another day in that bed."

"Yeah, well... Quit being sick. Quit it. This is turning out to be less fun that I thought it would be. Got anything in mind for us to do?"

"Not particularly. We could go back to the library." she said, "If you want. We might find something useful in there."

_'Not likely.' _said Nightmare.

"We could try." I said, "If we don't find anything important, maybe I could learn something else."

We headed over to the library.

'There a book in here that's gonna help us?' I asked Nightmare.

_'I have something in mind, but we should take it later.'_

'We'll come back tonight, then.'

I skimmed through some books. I don't think either of us really read any of them. Luna seemed to realize that it wouldn't work. Nonetheless, we filled up a nice part of the day with reading. We got a quick lunch about halfway through it.

I didn't get anything worthwhile, although I learned how to thoroughly clean my hair. Yeah, that's useful.

Celestia walked in the room. I stood up and said, "Where were you?"

"Why didn't you tell anypony where you went?" asked Luna.

"Sister, I need to speak to you in private." she said, "Come with me."

Luna looked back to me, then followed her sister out of the room.

'Nightmare.' I said.

_'Look for a book called Magical Mysteries. It should be a shelf over, on the top.'_

I got the book she wanted. Looked old, but then, so did everything else.

_'Hide it on your person. We'll read it when everypony's asleep.'_

I put it in my shirt. It stood out less than I thought it would. 'Why's this book so important?'

_'There's a potion recipe in there that we can use.'_ she said, _'It should very useful in dealing with the ponies.'_

'Sounds cool. What does it do?'

'You'll see.'

I grabbed another book and looked through it. Boring, as usual. Got pretty late before Luna came back in.

"Sorry about that." said Luna, "It was very important. I couldn't avoid it."

"Whatever. I have a, uh... a serious question. Do you believe that evil can triumph over good?"

"What brought that up?"

"Answer the question."

"Well, if evil can..."

"Yes or no." I said.

"No. Good will not lose against evil."

I smiled and nodded. "Good." I yawned. "Alright, I'm gonna head to bed. If you're the same tomorrow, we'll do whatever the hell you want, alright?"

"Alright."

I put some of the books I got out back on the shelves, then held one in front of Magical Mysteries and said, "Taking this."

"Go ahead."

And back to my room I went. I tossed Magical Mysteries under the bed, then I read the other for an hour.

'Anypony outside?'

_'Two guards, like normal.'_

'And Luna?'

_'Asleep. As well as her sister.'_

'Good, lets try this out.' I said.

I grabbed the book and flipped to the potion she mentioned.

"Ultimate potion of power. Significantly increases the power of a unicorn's magic."

'How is this useful?' I asked, 'You're the one with the magic, and you can't even use your own powers anymore.'

_'How do you know that?'_

'Half the time I guess, then you confirm my theories. You're not perfect at hiding your emotions. That kinda gives it away. So the potion?'

_'It says that it works on unicorns, but it works on anything.'_

'Even humans?' I asked.

_'I'm not entirely sure, but I believe so. We need the ability to channel your energy in our favor if we want to succeed. I'll be able to use spells to their fullest extent. It's really rare to see this potion made correctly, but it should be simple.'_

'Beautiful.'

I looked at the recipe. Half of it was ground-up gemstones. Nightmare told me that those would be the easiest to get. I told her that she was insane. The rest were crazy. Essences of magic, love, and happiness. Alicorn blood. Powdered scales of an adult dragon. Death root. Gryphon claws.

I stared at the book. 'I have a few questions!' I said.

_'I imagined you would.'_

'First of all, alicorn blood? Is this shit serious?!'

_'It's completely serious.'_

'I know how I could get that stuff, but I seriously don't want to.'

_'You know how?'_

'Yeah. I'd lure them out into the forest and get them to scratch themselves or something. Easy. It's kinda messed up, but it's easy. And the part about the dragon scale. I don't have a death wish. Not yet, at least.'

_'I will aid you with that one. It may prove dangerous, even if we sneak into a cave.'_

'How are you going to... Whatever. The gryphon claw one should be kinda easy. Death root, what's that?'

_'It's the root of a tree found deep within the Everfree Forest.'_

'I could've guessed that. What's so death-ey about it?'

_'It's poisonous. Very, very poisonous.'_

'Alright, the essences. What are those, exactly? Are they like potions themselves? Am I going to have to extract them from somepony? Or myself?'

_'They're a type of potion. They can be accessed with a spell or a special device from somepony who has a specialty in them.'_

'Alright. I have my targets, but I have a question. Does it take them away permanently? Like, if I take the essence of happiness from somepony, they won't be depressed for the rest of their life, will they?'

_'No, they'll recover from it, in time.'_

'In time?'

_'It may take up to a month, but no longer.'_

'Good. Alright, we'll take the magic from Twilight, and the happiness from Pinkie. The love... Queen Chrysalis.'

_'What?'_

'Were you thinking Luna?'

_'I was.'_

'That might affect you, and that could affect me. We could also take the magic from Celestia, now that I think about it. Wait a minute...'

_'What?'_

'If I take the magic from Celestia, Cadence, Shining Armor, and Twilight Sparkle, will that increase the power of the potion?'

_'I think it would, but getting at it would be incredibly hard.'_

'I'll try it. If I deem it impossible, I'll give up.'

I looked at the recipe again.

_'Is something the matter?'_

'I have other problems. We can't hide these things in here. I think the guards are going through my room.'

_'They are.'_

'And finding the ingredients. If we disappear for no reason, they'll get suspicious. We can't make excuses for everything. If they find out about this, I'll get taken down before I even start. We can't do this for a while. Can I take the essences without them knowing?'

_'Yes, but if they know what you're doing, you'll run into trouble.'_

'Ok.'

I started thinking about how I could do this. I really got into it, planning out many steps in advance, realizing my own mistakes, asking Nightmare for advice.

_'You're putting out a lot of negative energy right now.'_

I ran into a problem. Discord. I couldn't think of a way around him, no matter how hard I thought. I told Nightmare.

'We can't do this until he's gone. He's predictably unpredictable. I can't tell what he could do. He might even be reading my mind right now. He might even know about you already. They all trust him, so they won't turn him back into stone, and I can't trick him into doing something they'd hate either. Neither of us can, he's too smart. If it comes down to it, we might have to fight him. And I don't think we can do that, even at your best. Unless...'

_'Unless?'_

'I'll take his magic essence. Oh man, that's it! I love you, brain! That's how we'll do this. We don't even need the pony's magic essence. We'll destroy these ponies.'

_'And if you can't take it?'_

'I have a back up plan. If that doesn't work... well, I hope you enjoy prison.'

_'There's more negative energy flowing from you than I expected. I'm impressed.'_

'Fantastic.' I closed the book and stared at it. 'What am I gonna do with this? Put it back, I guess. They didn't see me come in with it, but it's dark. Hey, I appreciate the cooperation.'

_'It's my pleasure.'_

I grabbed the other book and brought the books back to the library, then put them back on their shelves. After that, I headed back to bed, still thinking about the potion.

*Bam, chapter.

Fawkes scares the hell out of me.

"Hey, lets trade equipment!"

"YES, BY ALL MEANS... LETS."

It's so creepy, and the way he towers over you is terrifying. Just minding my own business, then BAM! Super mutant.

I shot at him a few times thinking he was a regular super mutant charging at me.

And the asshole doesn't go into the chamber for me! The fucker is immune to radiation, but he just stands there and tells me that I have to do it!

Be these things as they may, I still love him.


	6. Ponyville

***Sorry.**

It got increasingly boring at the castle. Luna managed to keep it together, which is always good. I fully expected her to get sick again. I still do. We didn't hang out as much as I hoped we would, though. I guess that didn't matter.

I was laying on my bed, reading. It's been years since I've read this much. I used to get free pizza from Pizza Hut if I read enough for school, so it was Harry Potter day in, day out.

There was nothing else for me to do. I needed to find a hobby or something. Nightmare berated me for being so boring.

At all times, there was at least one guard around me. That really didn't make a difference with nothing to do.

A little while later, just after lunch, I started exploring the grounds. The guards that were following me didn't seem to like it, even though they didn't do anything to stop me. I took a field trip to the dungeons one time. There wasn't anypony down there. Nothing special. I'd probably store a few ponies down here when we took over, so it was nice to know where it was.

I wandered around the castle grounds some more, past some guards who were doing rounds. They glanced at me.

I sat against the tree where Luna fell asleep against me. I saw her watching me from her balcony, and gave her a wave.

I walked around some more, back into the building.

'Nightmare, when we're done here, do I get to live here?'

_'Certainly.'_

'Cool, cool.'

I went to the library and looked at a few books, then went back outside. I saw the hedge maze in the distance, and from there, I guessed where the hallway that contained the Elements of Harmony were. I saw the stained glass window designs, so I was right.

'Wait... Do Twilight and her friends have them? Celestia said that... Um... They got them... And that... I don't... remember very well. If they have them, then I could just swipe them and hide them. Plan... starting to form. Hmm, good plan. Still, the whole guard situation. I have never felt so determined in my life.'

Luna flew down next to me.

"Good morning, Luna." I said, "How are you?"

"I'm fine. And you?"

"I'm ok."

"We've received a letter from Twilight today." she said, "Here."

I took it and read it. She asked about Luna, and she even wrote about me, although it was kinda long and rambley. Pinkie probably helped her write it.

"It's been a while since you've seen your other friends. Maybe you should pay them a visit."

"Alright. I've been wanting to talk with Twilight about something, anyways."

She nodded. "I'm sure my sister will wish to speak with you before you go. Come with me."

Celestia was in the throne room, looking over a scroll.

"Hello, Phil."

"Hello, Princess."

"Sister, we have decided that he should go back to Ponyville."

"Why is that?"

"He's spent a time away from his other friends. The letter we received said that they were worried about him, and I thought that he should see them again."

"Alright. It's ok with me. However, you'll need to be accompanied. Since you're going to Ponyville, I'll have Shining Armor join you."

He stepped forward, giving me a brief glance.

'Wait, why is he here in the first place? Doesn't he stay in the Crystal Empire with Cadance?' I thought to myself, 'Speaking of, she's also a viable target for that potion.'

"Fine by me, Princess." I said, "I expected you to say something like that."

"Sister, are you going to take him to the station?"

"Yes, I am."

"Alright. Goodbye."

Our little party left for the train station. It came as no surprise to me that Shining Armor was the one that came with. He was about two foot shorter than me, and I was 100% sure that he could kick my ass any day of the week. Twice on Sundays.

"Guess this is it." I said, "I'll see you in a week. Or a few weeks. Or something. Don't get sick while I'm not here. Or preferably, not at all."

"I'll make sure not to."

"Good." I held my arms out.

"What are you doing?"

"C'mon, gimme hugs."

"A hug?"

She glanced at Shining, then back at me. She smiled. "Alright."

I wrapped my arms around her, and she did the same. She held on surprisingly tightly.

I relaxed a little, but she didn't let go. Not that I wanted her to, of course. Hugs are awesome. if someone ever tells you that hugs aren't awesome, you look them right in the eyes and tell them that hugs are awesome.

I could feel her let out a quiet sigh. After a while like this, she finally pulled away and few seconds later said, "Sorry. I've made this awkward, haven't I?"

"No more than usual."

She had an embarrassed look on her face. Ponies had begun to stare at us, even from the train windows.

"I'll see ya later, Luna. We can try out that hug thing again when I get back."

She paused for a little while, then said, "I'd like that."

It didn't seem like it was something she had intended to say, because a look of realization flashed across her face.

"Goodbye."

"See ya, Luna."

We got on the train. Luna remained where she was for a little while, a little shocked at herself. In the end, she just shrugged to herself and went back home.

I sat across from Shining on the train, still thinking that trains rocked. In the words of a man wiser than I, I like trains. In the words of a man with a level of intelligence similar to that of my own, I like tacos.

I stared at him. He didn't really seem to care all that much, though. I'm sure the only reason he was here was because of Twilight.

Nightmare seemed to take an interest in him. At least how to keep him from getting in the way.

I thought about talking to him, but I didn't have anything to say. Probably.

'Man, this sucks. I'm so bored.'

_'Quit your whining. I'm worse off than you are. I can't even move myself.'_

'Yeah, alright. That potion's gonna be hell to make. I'd like to find a place that we can hide things.'

_'We can use my castle.'_

'But the bridge is gone.'

_'That won't be a problem.'_

'If you say so. Still, Celestia is going to be a tough nut to crack. Luna trusts me. Probably. I need a way to prove myself to Celestia.'

_'If a chance comes up, I'll do what I can to assist you.'_

'Great.'

_'We could fabricate an event. Make it seem like you've overcome a great challenge for the ponies.'_

'When Twilight tried that, she made the whole town turn against each other. Besides, I don't think we can do that. We're linked a little too closely at the moment. If you really want to, we'll both have to be patient. At least enough so that you can be independent again.'

_'The way you talk makes it seem as though you're experienced with this sort of thing.'_

'I'm actually not, and that's likely going to be our downfall.'

_'We haven't started yet and you're already thinking of failure.'_

'There are just... so many things that can go wrong. I haven't done anything like this, and both times that you tried, you've failed. If you want to rule the world, or even just a country, very careful planning is needed.'

_'If you had been there to help me at my prime, I would have succeeded.'_

'Like you would've listened to me anyways.'

_'You're probably right.'_

I didn't say a single word to Shining the whole trip. Oh well.

When we arrived, I looked at the clock. 2:00. That's alright. Pinkie was waiting for us when we got to the station. She had a box on her back.

"Phil!"

"Pinkie!"

She jumped on me and hugged me. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good. You?"

She jumped off. "I've been worried. All of us have."

"Yeah, well... Quit it."

"Hungry? I made cupcakes."

"You know me so well." She gave me the box. I grabbed a cupcake and devoured it. "My stomach got angry at me for eating slightly less than normal recently. It was like rawr, grrr, rawr-rawr."

"Don't starve yourself!"

"Shining! Have a cupcake!" I held box out to him and he grabbed one.

"Hello, Pinkie Pie."

"Shining Armor? What are you doing here?"

"He's here to look after me! Man, you've got your work cut out for you. Or... Uh... The phase that means you can be lazy. I don't know it, actually."

"You should've told Twilight you were coming!" said Pinkie.

"I kinda wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well lets go surprise her, then!" I said.

"Phil, I need to have a word with you. In private." he said.

I shrugged. "See ya there, Pinkie. Or not."

"Bye-bye!"

She headed off to wherever she damn well pleased. Because she was Pinkie Pie. She gets to do that kind of thing.

I had a feeling he was gonna say something about Twilight. I grabbed another cupcake and said, "Alright, buddy. What's up?"

"I want to make one thing clear between us. You're probably not gonna get this, so I'll make it simple. If you ever do anything to my sister, I'm going to hurt you."

"Well, duh. I get the feeling that you don't like me."

"I don't."

I stared at him for a few seconds, then shrugged. "Well, whatever. I can't make everypony happy."

I walked to Twilight's house. House-library. Why do these ponies live in their businesses? Damn it, I've confused myself.

Some ponies said hi to me, like I was a normal, everyday thing now. They even knew my name. Jeff... right?

We walked in Twilight's place. Pinkie was already there.

"Hello, Phil. Shining?"

"Hey, Twilight. How have you been?" he said.

"I've been fine. What are you doing here?"

He looked at me, then said, "I'm here to make sure this guy doesn't do anything."

"If he's not supposed to do anything, then you're not doing a very good job." said Pinkie.

"You know what I mean, Pinkie."

"How's Princess Luna doing?" asked Twilight.

"Last I saw she was back to normal."

"That's a relief."

"So how have you been, Phil?"

"I'm fantabulous! A little bored, though."

"Bored?"

"Yeah, whatever. What about you, Twilight? How've you been? Pinkie said you were all worried."

"We are. It was kinda scary seeing Princess Luna like that."

"Yeah, but at least it looks like she's getting better."

"That's wonderful."

"Can I stay here, Twilight? I guess I'm gonna be in Ponyville for a while."

"That's fine."

"What about me?" asked Shining.

"Oh, right. Um..."

"Phil can stay with me." said Pinkie.

"Wait, doesn't he have to guard me?" I said, pointing at Shining, "I think we both gotta stay in the same place."

"I don't have two extra beds." said Twilight.

"Neither do I."

"Huh..."

"Maybe you two could sleep in the same bed." offered Pinkie.

"There's no way I'm sharing a bed with him."

"I guess I'll get the floor, then."

"You don't have to do that. I'm sure we'll think of something."

"Alright."

"Since you're in Ponyville, you should go see everypony else. I'm sure that they'd be happy to hear about Princess Luna's recovery."

"Sounds fun."

"Can I come with?" asked Pinkie.

"Of course. And he can come with, too. Not that he really has a choice in the matter."

I decided to head to Rarity's place first. She was working on something when we walked in. Seemed pretty fancy.

"Hey, Rarity!" I said cheerfully.

"Phil! Shining Armor? When did you get here?"

"Few minutes ago." I said, "How have you been?"

"I've been fine. What about yourself? Is the Princess alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Luna's alright. I'm pretty good, too."

"Oh, that's wonderful."

"Got that right."

"Rarity, what is that?"

"Be nice to our guests. He's the human I mentioned to you."

The adorableness... it hurts.

"Oh! You're... Phil, right?"

"That's right."

"My name is Sweetie Belle."

"Nice to meet ya. Hey Rarity, you free tonight?"

"Yes I am. Why?"

"I wanted to know if you could make something for me."

"Of course."

"Sweet. I'll stop by later. We gotta get going. Sorry to cut this visit short."

"Aw, so soon?"

"Yeah. I gotta tell everypony else the good news."

"Alright. Goodbye everypony."

"See ya."

We headed to Fluttershy's place next.

"Hey Pinkie. C'mere."

"What's up?"

I grabbed onto her and put her on my shoulders. She giggled, then started laughing. She was like virtually weightless.

"This is so fun!" she said, giggling away.

She almost fell off, but balanced herself out, then laughed even harder.

She put her hooves on my head. "I can see my house from here!"

"So can I. It's almost like we're 20 feet away from it." I said, "Spooky, right?"

"I know..."

"We are 20 feet away from it." said Shining.

"Barrel of laughs you are."

I took a wrong turn. At least, I thought I did. Pinkie had to guide me in the right direction a few times.

"Fluttershy! Are you home?" called Pinkie.

The door opened. We all looked down to see Angel. Why is this rabbit sentient? He's smarter than I am. Opening doors? Even I haven't mastered this kind of technology yet. Fucking Furry Fuck here mastered this hidden art long ago on the fiery planes of fucking Narnia. I can't compete with that shit.

"Hey, Angel! Fluttershy around?"

He put his hand up, then closed the door. Fluttershy opened it a few seconds later. Finally, a little normality enters the picture. A yellow miniature horse with functional, non-electric wings opening a door with her hooves with kung-fu grip action. They're cylinders! Fucking CYLINDERS!

"Hello. What are you doing up there, Pinkie?"

"I don't know. It's fun, though."

"That's nice."

I told her about Luna. She chatted with Pinkie for a little while I glared at her witch of a rabbit, and we left shortly after.

'That reminds me, that guy... Lightning... Dasher... Yeah, that was it. Huh... I wonder what happened with him.'

"Hey Pinkie, how are we gonna get ahold of Rainbow? She lives in Cloudsdale, right? On a cloud. We can't get up there. I can't scale mountains as easily as you may think."

"She'll show up."

"I wanna live on a cloud. They're probably so comfy."

"They are."

"Alright, excluding Rainbow Dash, we seem to be a little limited at the moment, but who do you think we should go visit next?"

"Applejack!"

"Sounds like a plan to me. And... where exactly is she located?"

She turned my head to the right and said, "That way!"

I followed her directions until we got to the farm. Apples everywhere. I don't know why I expected something different. It's not my fault. I was a good son.

"Hey, there's Big Macintosh!" said Pinkie, "He's Applejack's brother."

"Alright. He seems busy."

"If he's out, then Applejack must be out, too. Go that way!"

I walked wherever she told me to go. I'm pretty sure we went in a circle.

"What're ya'll doin' on his head?"

"My vision went all pink a while ago and I needed something to guide me around town." I said, "Incidentally, your friend Pinkie Pie is pink. I didn't think you noticed."

Pinkie removed her hooves from my eyes.

"My vision has been returned to me. Hey Applejack! What's goin' on, buddy?"

"I'm jus' workin'. What about yourself?"

"We're all good. He might not be. He's gotta look after me."

"You have a babysitter?" said Rainbow Dash, walking in from behind us.

"Well, he doesn't sit on babies, but pretty much, yeah. Glad you could make it, too. I got something to tell you both."

"Princess Luna is all better!" said Pinkie.

"Aw, I wanted to say that."

"Really? That's awesome!"

"That's some good news."

"Damn skippy. What have you two been up to?"

"Nothing much. Just working."

"Same here, I guess. There wasn't much of anything going on."

"That sounds boring."

"It is."

I shrugged. "Oh well. You two have fun, now. I'm gonna take off. There's a few more things I'd like to take care of today."

"It's still pretty early. Lets hang out some more."

"Actually, Ah've gotta get back to work. These apples aren't gonna harvest themselves."

"Oh. Well, I'm still free."

"Alrighty then. See ya later, Applejack."

"Umm..."

"You too, Pinkie?"

"I spent my break showing you around town. I gotta get back soon."

I started walking. "So Rainbow, if you weren't hanging with me, what'd you be doing?"

"Probably training."

"Or sleeping." said Pinkie.

"What are ya trainin' for?"

She explained the Wonderbolts to me.

When she was done, I said, "The Wonderbolts sound awesome. I gotta see 'em in action one of these days."

"They have a show in about a week. We could go see it together."

"That sounds awesome. Except I don't have any money. Hey Pinkie, can I work with you?"

"I'll have to ask Mr. Cake about that."

"Alright."

"Are you gonna be coming with?" Rainbow asked Shining.

"I don't really have a choice."

"Nope, but you're paying for your own admission."

"I'll be fine. I kinda wanted to see one of their shows, too."

"It's goin' be fun on the bun."

I dropped Pinkie off at her bakery. Turns out, they weren't looking for hire.

"Ah well."

"If you still want a job, you should go ask Applejack. She's got thousands of apples to move. I'm sure she'll appreciate some help."

"But I was just there! Now I'll have to walk back there. You must like watching me suffer."

"Well, a little." said Shining.

"I'll get it taken care of eventually. Thanks for the advice. C'mon you two, there's more I wanna do."

"Right behind ya."

"Yeah..."

* * *

***Fuck it, stopping there. You waited enough. Probably.**

**I seriously love this story. It's just getting so awesome to me.**

**Again, sorry. Unfortunately, it's probably happening again. I don't like making people wait.**

**On the plus side, chapter # whatever is like fully done. When I'm not working on this, I work on future parts of my story, so I've got ideas galore and chapters mostly finished already.**

* * *

**Lets see... In the past few months:**

**Started school**

**Put Pokemon Emerald and Red Rescue Team on my ipod**

**Beat both of them**

**100% trophies for New Vegas**

**Master Prestige on Black Ops 2**

**Broke 3 sets of earbuds**

**Found out that building a computer pisses me off**


End file.
